Conversations do not always neatly progress from beginning to end with shared understanding along the way. Although we sometimes talk at the same time as others or interrupt them, there are numerous verbal and nonverbal cues, almost like a dance, that are exchanged between speakers that let people know when their turn will begin or end. People need to feel like they are contributing something to an interaction, so turn taking is a central part of how conversations play out (Crystal, 2005). One social norm that structures our communication is turn taking. ![]() For example, a person may say, “As a longtime member of this community…” or “As a first-generation college student…” Such statements cue others into the personal and social context from which we are speaking, which helps them better interpret our meaning. Our various social roles influence meaning and how we speak. Instead, we rely on routines and roles (as determined by social forces) to help us proceed with verbal interaction, which also helps determine how a conversation will unfold. To help conversations function meaningfully, we have learned social norms and internalized them to such an extent that we do not often consciously enact them. As we’ve already learned, rules are explicitly stated conventions (“Look at me when I’m talking to you.”) and norms are implicit (saying you’ve got to leave before you actually do to politely initiate the end to a conversation). We arrive at meaning through conversational interaction, which follows many social norms and rules. Given that we do not use formal and informal pronouns in English anymore, there is no equivalent ritual to the German duzen, but as we will learn next, there are many rituals in English that may be just as foreign to someone else. Doctor,” but used informal pronouns, even in class, while the other students not included in the ceremony had to continue using the formal. For the rest of the semester, the American students still respectfully referred to the professor with her title, which translated to “Mrs. ![]() As they went around the table, each student introduced himself or herself to the professor using the formal pronoun, locked arms with her and drank (similar to the champagne toast ritual at some wedding ceremonies), and reintroduced himself or herself using the informal pronoun. Their professor informed them that they were going to duzen, which meant they were going to now be able to refer to her with the informal pronoun-an honor and sign of closeness for the American students. When the professor invited some of the American exchange students to dinner, they didn’t know they were about to participate in a cultural ritual that would change the way they spoke to their professor from that night on. My friend, as was typical in the German language, referred to his professor with the formal pronoun Sie but used the informal pronoun Du with his fellow students since they were peers. Other languages still have social norms and rules about who is to be referred to informally and formally. The following example of such a lesson comes from my friend who studied abroad in Vienna, Austria.Īlthough English used to employ formal ( thou, thee) and informal pronouns ( you), today you can be used when speaking to a professor, a parent, or a casual acquaintance. Studying abroad, for example, brings many challenges that can turn into valuable lessons. One of the best ways to learn about society, culture, and language is to seek out opportunities to go beyond our typical comfort zones. ![]() Such a cyclical relationship can be difficult to understand, but many of the examples throughout this chapter and examples from our own lives help illustrate this point. ![]() Society and culture influence the words that we speak, and the words that we speak influence society and culture. Discuss cultural bias in relation to specific cultural identities.Explain the role that accommodation and code-switching play in communication.Identify some of the ways in which language varies based on cultural context.Discuss some of the social norms that guide conversational interaction.
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